The Phantom of the Opera---A Child's Version
by La Fantasma
Summary: A sweet little idea I had when thinking what the story would be like if it happened many years earlier with different twists.


Author's Note: Hi! I know I'm not done with my first story but I just had to get this out of my system. I'll explain, ever wonder what the story would be like if the characters from POTO were younger? I mean REALLY younger. Well I have and decided to write this. Just for the story, all characters live in same area. Oh, by the way, not like I'm hinting or anything but I'm very fond of reviews. ~whistles~ I just thought this story would be sweet. Hope you like it!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Erik pressed his thin hand on the cool glass of the window and gazed longingly outside. It was a very nice day outside with the flowers starting to blossom and the sun shining brightly. He sighed softly and pulled the curtains over the beautiful scene. Why even bother to look at it? He heard footsteps in the room but was daydreaming and didn't seem to notice whose they were, even if it could only be one person.  
  
"Were you looking out the window?" A weak voice that sounded agitated and frightened called out, interrupting his pleasant thoughts. Erik lifted his head and slowly turned it towards the voice's owner.  
  
"Yes." He answered simply, holding back the urge to lie. He watched as the woman's eyes widened and lips parted. It was a shocking sight to see when she did that. It didn't help her sickly appearance of pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. And yet, she might be very pretty if she smiled but Erik couldn't remember the last time he had seen his mother smile.  
  
She rushed over to the window and closed the curtains together with her hand. She was breathing heavily and she turned to her son with such a pitiable look. Erik had tried to behave but had to be careful. If he did one thing wrong she would act as if he always did things to upset her. He lowered his gaze to the floor.  
  
"How many times have I told you never to look out the window?" She hissed impatiently. "Someone might see you!" She moved him away from the window and made sure the curtains were closed.  
  
"No one saw me." He answered sadly. His mother shivered at the tone of his voice and felt it could have broken her heart easily. She tried to shrug the feeling off.  
  
"How are you sure?" She demanded, angrily stamping her foot on the floor.  
  
"Because no one was there." He replied timidly but this time chose to look up at her. His mother stood back in fear at seeing his eyes. Those small yellow eyes that glowed from beneath the mask, reminding her that it was alive. She turned and walked to the other end of the room and put on her coat, carefully avoiding his hypnotic stare.  
  
"Mama," he said as sweetly as he could. "May I go out and play with the other children this time?"  
  
His mother shivered again. Oh, such a voice! It was so sweet and angelic, she felt she could hardly refuse it. She turned again but to her disappointment she only saw her son. She shook her head and headed toward the door. Erik held back his own tears of disappointment and walked over to her.  
  
"Should you really go out this time, mama? Really, you don't look at all well, perhaps you should rest today." His mother paused and looked down at him as if she thought he'd gone mad. They both knew that she was not ill but more worried and anxious. She'd always been that way with him but he went on.  
  
"I could take care of you." He continued and hesitated before adding. "And I wouldn't go near the windows."  
  
His mother thought she could cry. It was so sweet to hear him say that and she would have gladly stayed instead of running off for a while if only to get away from him. If only he were normal.  
  
"No, I'm fine." She insisted and reached for the door handle. Erik's small and thin hand came up and gently tugged on her sleeve. She glanced down again, starting to grow impatient once more. "What is it?" She whined.  
  
"Come down here." He said gesturing with his hand indicating her to lower herself to his height.  
  
"Why?" She asked suspiciously. She backed away again, her hand still holding the door handle.  
  
"So I can kiss you." He answered, as though it were obvious. His mother held back her urge to scream. Such a simple request that any mother would gladly give her child but one that horrified her. Seeing that his mother would refuse him again he struggled desperately for something to say.  
  
"It's just that I won't be seeing you for a while. Every time you go out you come home late and I miss you terribly and I,-"  
  
But his mother wouldn't let him finish. She quickly opened to door and rushed out of the house, slamming it behind her. And now Erik was alone. Always alone. He broke down and sobbed, burying his face in his hands. He tried so hard to please his mother but all his attempts failed. She ran away, instead of playing with him. She left him to cry when he had a scary dream, instead of comforting him. She locked him away in the dark, instead of letting him step into the light. And all because of his face.  
  
Erik crawled into a corner and hugged his knees to his chest gently rocking back and forth hoping to calm himself. Idly in the back of his mind he wondered if Madame Giry would come to check on him. He sniffed and took off his mask to wipe the tears off his face and away from his eyes. Madame Giry came once in a while, knowing his mother, was going to be away for a few hours just to make sure he kept out of trouble. Madame Giry was the only person who was nice to him but it was only out of pity, not love. All the same, he appreciated it since it was the best he could get. Besides, he liked Madame Giry. She was a ballet dancer but she was also rather serious and almost always wore black, at least every time he'd seen her.  
  
He liked her so much that when he discovered that she had a young daughter, Meg, he wanted to do something nice to show appreciation. One day, when he found some cloth and buttons that his mother wasn't going to use he carefully sneaked into his mother's sewing room to use some needle and thread and made her daughter a little rag doll. It wasn't too good since it was his first time at sewing after watching his mother and he had also pricked himself a couple of times with the needle but it wasn't too bad either.  
  
When he saw Madame Giry he gave it to her to give to her daughter. She was slightly surprised but quietly nodded saying she would. She thought, in a way that, it was a nice gesture but what she didn't know was that Erik would also look out the window occasionally when the children came out to play to keep an eye on Meg. Because of this he wasn't surprised when Madame Giry told him Meg liked the doll because he had seen her playing with it earlier. Of course, she never told her daughter who it was from, as he had asked.  
  
He woke from his thoughts at the sound of laughter. The children were out but then again why shouldn't they be, on such a perfect day. Erik slowly replaced his mask on his face and walked over to the window. Pulling back the curtains, just enough so he could see, he looked up at the hill by the wood. It was where all the children played and he had a perfect view of it. But although it was nice to see it was also a torment because he could never go out and play there…or anywhere.  
  
There were many children but he could count on a few familiar faces that he always saw. Of course, there was little Meg Giry with raven hair like her mother's and quite talkative with the other little girls. There was also Carlotta who was very pretty with rosy cheeks and hair and a very powerful voice. But she was always shouting in a high pitched voice that hurt Erik's ears and strutted around like a queen. There was Sorelli a friend of Carlotta's who was very superstitious and was picked on before Carlotta befriended her, for no one dared anger Carlotta. There was little Jammes who was always talking with Meg and dancing but her dancing was much like a calf in a field, Erik thought.  
  
Then there were Moncharmin and Richard, two completely different personalities but very much good friends. There were the de Chagny brothers and their sisters but you usually saw Raoul and Phillipe more. Erik wished he didn't. Phillipe was always flirting with the little girls and chatting with the other boys but Raoul kept mostly to himself. Both of them had perfect boyish faces, the kind he didn't.  
  
And then, of course, there was the Persian who was always lurking about but usually when the weather was warm since he was more used to it. Erik smirked at seeing him because he stuck out among all the smiling faces too much. The Persian was the only child that knew Erik was there. In a way, he was like a friend but Erik felt he was much too serious and banished away any ideas that Erik had of having fun because he thought it too dangerous. But sometimes he was amusing.  
  
No one knew the Persian's name and Erik sometimes forgot it because he had gotten so used to calling him "Daroga". The Persian said it meant the chief of police which was what he wanted to be when he grew older. Erik liked learning a word none of the other children probably knew. He had said…  
  
"I think that when I grow up I'll be chief of police, or Daroga as it's called in Persia."  
  
"Oh really? It certainly seems fitting with you being so no-nonsense and never letting anyone have any fun." Erik had remarked dryly.  
  
"Well, Erik, with your idea of fun I'll no doubt see you in my prison cells one day." He replied causing Erik to laugh and agree. But the Persian never came by often and it was probably only because he wanted to make sure Erik didn't cause any mischief.  
  
Seeing that little Giry was alright he was about to move away from the window until he saw a face he hadn't seen before. It was that of a little girl with such golden curls it would make the sun jealous, pretty blue eyes, ivory skin, and rosy cheeks. She had a girlish awkwardness but to Erik she seemed like a little storybook princess. He was surprised to find that he couldn't pull away from the window and was simply fascinated at seeing her. He had to find out who she was. 


End file.
